When Fry, a somewhat dim-witted 25 year-old pizza delivery boy for Panucci's Pizza is asked to make a drop at Applied Cryogenics, it's the beginning of a journey that will take him more than a thousand years into the future.

Fry falls into one of the company's capsules and doesn't emerge until the dawn of the year 3000. Here he befriends a beautiful one-eyed alien called Leela (a worker at the New York based cryogenics factory) and a degenerate robot named Bender. The trio track down Fry's great-great-great-etc. nephew, Professor Farnsworth, who hires the three to work for his intergalactic delivery service. Together they traverse the cosmos delivering goods for Planet Express, Leela serves as the ship's captain and Bender indulges in his love of booze, large cigars and pornography.

It was recently announced that Futurama will be returning with 26 new episodes in 2010 on Comedy Central. The cable net has already re-signed voice stars Billy West, Katey Sagal and John DiMaggio to reprise their animated roles.

The team of Futurama created three alien languages purposely for the show. The first one was made when the show started. After people decrypted it, they created a second in Season 2. After FBI code-breakers broke that one, they created a third and considered one of the hardest codes to break. There are several alien languages, but the main three are the ones people try to decrypt. This guide has most of the Alien codes translated into English that you will hardly find elsewhere (on the Notes section, preceded by Alien code).

Also to note, since the show is created by the minds behind The Simpsons, it also follows the pattern of being a "freeze-frame" show. That basically means there are a ton of sight gags and one-second-jokes throughout the entire series. We've done our best to point out the ones that you may have missed, or saw and couldn't get a better look at.

If you are (or were) a big fan of The Simpsons, then you'll be in heaven with this show.

Futurama is a more refined and funnier version of the earlier show, but with all new characters and a futuristic setting to delve even further into the depths of humour that was synonymous with Groening's other outing. Read more